announce author Jill McCorkle as the judge for the 2018 South Carolina Novel Prize.

McCorkle is the author of six novels, most recently Life After Life, and four story collections. Her work has appeared in numerous periodicals, four of her short stories have been selected for Best American Short Stories and one essay was selected for Best American Essays. She has taught at Harvard, Brandeis, and N.C. State, and currently teaches in the Bennington College Writing Seminars.

The South Carolina Novel Prize (formerly the First Novel Prize) is open to any South Carolina writer, including those who have never had a novel published and those who have been published.

The contest is highly competitive. Applicants’ works are reviewed anonymously by panelists who make their judgments on the basis of artistic merit. Six to eight novels will be judged by McCorkle.

The winning author will receive a book contract with Hub City Press, an award-winning independent press in Spartanburg, S.C. Winner is awarded publication by Hub City Press in the form of a printing of no less than 2,000 copies to be nationally distributed to the trade in 2019. This can bring recognition that may open doors to other resources and opportunities in the literary community.

Brock Adams of Spartanburg won the 2016 First Novel Prize. His novel, Ember, was published by Hub City Press in September 2017.

Submissions open January 1, 2018 and close March 15, 2018. Find complete eligibility requirements and application guidelines online.